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Revival of an unusual folk dance
By Xu Wenwen |
May 25, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
YUHANG rolling lamp is an old folk dance/sport originally created to keep young men in shape so they could ward off attacks by pirates. But with the help of the national sports authority, it has been changed so more people can enjoy it, writes Xu Wenwen.
Wang Miaolin was the only person who could perform Yuhang rolling lamp in his town before 1996. Today he has thousands of enthusiastic apprentices. Wang still can't believe the turnaround.
Yuhang rolling lamp, or Yuhang gun deng in Chinese, is an old folk dance/sport that integrates athletics and acrobatics. It is popular along the Qiantang River including Yuhang and Haiyan in Zhejiang Province.
Most of the movements in the dance involve rolling a large lamp on, under and around a player's body. The lamp is a ball made of bamboo strips, in the center of which there is a smaller ball-type metal apparatus holding a lit candle.
The candle always remains upright no matter how the lamp rolls due to the center apparatus.
The lamp-ball that has a diameter of around 1.2 meters weighs about 50 kilograms as the bamboo hasn't underwent drying process.
Thus, it's far from easy to move the big ball freely, let alone try some difficult moves such as holding and swirling the ball by the teeth, jumping over the ball like a vault in gymnastics, and bending backwards to lift it.
"Everyone learning rolling lamp get callouses on their hands at the beginning," said Wang.
The sport was invented more than 800 years ago to improve people's strength so they could fight off pirates. Both Yuhang and Haiyan are located along the ocean and were vulnerable to pirate attacks in old times.
It used to be very competitive with every village sending their strongest man to fight with others and claim the other village's lamp. The winner could claim "my village has stronger men than yours."
They competed to get each other's "martial lanterns" - the lamps featured a black ball in the center where the candle stands. Lamps with red balls in the center were called "civil lanterns" and were only for practicing.
"Injuries and even deaths were not rare," Wang said. "People fought, not for money or prizes, but for honor."
The competitions stopped during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) as locals found "the internal conflict didn't make any sense as they were preoccupied with defeating Japan," Wang said.
But the "civil lantern" is still treated as an auspicious object that can be seen during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of lunar calendar, or at temple fairs.
However, when the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) took place, Yuhang rolling lamp was halted, like many other folk arts, and wasn't revived until the local authority realized its importance.
The recovery began in the late 1970s, but was slow initially. It sped up in 1996 as the then 52-year-old Wang received his first student. Wang was then the only rolling lamp artist in Wengmei Town of Yuhang, where it originated.
His students taught others and the traditional entertainment revived to such a state that each village, town and subdistrict of Yuhang now has its own rolling lamp squad.
In 1998, the first Rolling Lamp Competition was held in Yuhang, and it became known as a folk art in the country as it appeared in gala shows and opening ceremonies of sports competitions.
In 2006, Yuhang rolling lamp was listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wang, who learned the skills from his father and grandfather, is listed as the descendant of Yuhang rolling lamp.
Moreover, at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, a troupe instructed by Wang and his students performed Yuhang rolling lamp in a warm-up show before the opening ceremony.
The lamps used for this performance were smaller, glittery and the candles were replaced by bulbs. The movements were more systematic and produced a better stage effect.
The country's sports authority categorized the traditional rolling lamp into nine sets of 27 movements and adapted it for men's, women's and children's versions.
And it created large, medium and small balls. The smallest one is now the size of a basketball that can be easily gripped and handled by women or children.
Therefore the sport that used to be the specialty of young men, who were expected to repel attacks by pirates, became enjoyed by young and old, men and women.
Today, Yuhang rolling lamp practitioners have toured many places in China, and also abroad, including the United States, France and Belgium.
Wang Miaolin was the only person who could perform Yuhang rolling lamp in his town before 1996. Today he has thousands of enthusiastic apprentices. Wang still can't believe the turnaround.
Yuhang rolling lamp, or Yuhang gun deng in Chinese, is an old folk dance/sport that integrates athletics and acrobatics. It is popular along the Qiantang River including Yuhang and Haiyan in Zhejiang Province.
Most of the movements in the dance involve rolling a large lamp on, under and around a player's body. The lamp is a ball made of bamboo strips, in the center of which there is a smaller ball-type metal apparatus holding a lit candle.
The candle always remains upright no matter how the lamp rolls due to the center apparatus.
The lamp-ball that has a diameter of around 1.2 meters weighs about 50 kilograms as the bamboo hasn't underwent drying process.
Thus, it's far from easy to move the big ball freely, let alone try some difficult moves such as holding and swirling the ball by the teeth, jumping over the ball like a vault in gymnastics, and bending backwards to lift it.
"Everyone learning rolling lamp get callouses on their hands at the beginning," said Wang.
The sport was invented more than 800 years ago to improve people's strength so they could fight off pirates. Both Yuhang and Haiyan are located along the ocean and were vulnerable to pirate attacks in old times.
It used to be very competitive with every village sending their strongest man to fight with others and claim the other village's lamp. The winner could claim "my village has stronger men than yours."
They competed to get each other's "martial lanterns" - the lamps featured a black ball in the center where the candle stands. Lamps with red balls in the center were called "civil lanterns" and were only for practicing.
"Injuries and even deaths were not rare," Wang said. "People fought, not for money or prizes, but for honor."
The competitions stopped during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) as locals found "the internal conflict didn't make any sense as they were preoccupied with defeating Japan," Wang said.
But the "civil lantern" is still treated as an auspicious object that can be seen during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of lunar calendar, or at temple fairs.
However, when the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) took place, Yuhang rolling lamp was halted, like many other folk arts, and wasn't revived until the local authority realized its importance.
The recovery began in the late 1970s, but was slow initially. It sped up in 1996 as the then 52-year-old Wang received his first student. Wang was then the only rolling lamp artist in Wengmei Town of Yuhang, where it originated.
His students taught others and the traditional entertainment revived to such a state that each village, town and subdistrict of Yuhang now has its own rolling lamp squad.
In 1998, the first Rolling Lamp Competition was held in Yuhang, and it became known as a folk art in the country as it appeared in gala shows and opening ceremonies of sports competitions.
In 2006, Yuhang rolling lamp was listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wang, who learned the skills from his father and grandfather, is listed as the descendant of Yuhang rolling lamp.
Moreover, at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, a troupe instructed by Wang and his students performed Yuhang rolling lamp in a warm-up show before the opening ceremony.
The lamps used for this performance were smaller, glittery and the candles were replaced by bulbs. The movements were more systematic and produced a better stage effect.
The country's sports authority categorized the traditional rolling lamp into nine sets of 27 movements and adapted it for men's, women's and children's versions.
And it created large, medium and small balls. The smallest one is now the size of a basketball that can be easily gripped and handled by women or children.
Therefore the sport that used to be the specialty of young men, who were expected to repel attacks by pirates, became enjoyed by young and old, men and women.
Today, Yuhang rolling lamp practitioners have toured many places in China, and also abroad, including the United States, France and Belgium.
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